OPETH To Begin Recording New Album Tomorrow

OPETH mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has issued the following update:

"On October 28 at 9:20 AM my wife gave birth to our second daughter, Mirjam Ebba Maria Åkerfeldt. She is so beautiful, just looking at her brings me to tears! Who'd known that I, a bum from the Stockholm suburbs would be the father of two beautiful daughters? Yes, guys! I am happy!

"On top of that, the album is now written and the demos sound fantastic! We will start recording it tomorrow, actually! I don't wanna say too much but....gee, it is so fucking good!! If I may say so myself....Expected 'delivery date' on this one is sometime in April/May 2008.

"On top of that (2)...my friends at PRS guitars and Laney decided to give me some early Christmas gifts. I had a stunning PRS Hollowbody II delivered and it's just awesome! Real ear and eye candy! And from Laney I got the new Lionheart mini stack which sounds beyond fantastic! That rig will be used quite a lot in the studio I'm sure!

"Yes, you can probably say the last few days have been pretty fucking decent!"

OPETH's "The Roundhouse Tapes" double CD is available for streaming in its entirety at MP3.com.

Due in the U.S. on November 20 via Peaceville Records (released in Europe on October 22),"The Roundhouse Tapes" contains "a captivating OPETH performance from the Camden Roundhouse, London, UK, on November 9, 2006, and sees the band in scintillating form churning out a selection of classics from their illustrious career," according to a press release. "You know what to expect from OPETH: unrivalled composition; seamless progressive dynamics and boundless atmosphere from the mellow to the incredibly heavy, all sealed with the unmistakable vocal presence of mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt."

Commented Åkerfeldt: "The Roundhouse concert will always be a very memorable gig for us for many reasons, but most importantly it caught the band at the peak of the 'Ghost Reveries' tour. I must say we're quite tight after 18 odd months on the road supporting the record. I'm extremely pleased we got it documented and I hope it will please our beloved fans as well. As an extra bonus we've decided to collaborate with one of our past labels for this release, the legendary Peaceville Records. Here's a toast to Hammy and Lisa for helping us back in the day as well as to the new team for preserving this pleasurable memory for today's music lovers as well as for generations to come."

OPETH's "The Roundhouse Tapes" will be released as a high-definition-filmed DVD in early 2008. This will also feature lots of fan interviews, band interviews, soundcheck footage and live photos, along with exclusive menu music written by mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt and keyboardist Per Wiberg.